World Series cities are still thinking of L.A. and Dodgers: Opinion

Yasiel Puig reacts after hitting a run-scoring triple during the Dodgers' victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 14. (Photo by David J. Phillip/Associated Press)

The World Series began last night for Boston and St. Louis — not for Los Angeles. But it’s nice to know those other two towns are still thinking about us.

Writers in the homes of the Red Sox and Cardinals have found a lot to celebrate and more than a little cultural significance in the Dodgers’ defeat one step from the World Series.

The Boston Herald’s Steve Buckley starts a column by ripping Dodgers Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, a couple of ex-Red Sox who are unpopular with fans there, and moves on to what looks like a shot at Dodgers fans. Buckley calls the Boston-St. Louis World Series a matchup of “two oldtime baseball towns whose fans take the game seriously.”

Maybe that’s not meant as a shot at L.A. fans, and we’re being too sensitive.

But there’s no mistaking the intended insult in what St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz wrote after the Cardinals knocked out the Dodgers. Calling the National League Championship Series a “baseball culture war” between the Cards’ “solid fundamental play” and the Dodgers’ “Disneyland gaggle of characters,” Miklasz declared: “Main Street America is headed back to the World Series.”

A fan of the Dodgers, and of Los Angeles, could take offense.

Better to be proud of the Dodgers’ huge improvement this season and the way the multicultural, entertaining team reflects its city.

Their last big victory of the 2013 is that the two towns in the World Series still can’t get L.A. out off their minds.